We have an obscene abundance of kale in the garden this year. You guys, I am so tired of kale. SO TIRED. But, on the plus side, apparently boredom is the mother of invention, because in order to not keep putting my taste buds to sleep I’ve found some creative ways to use up this extremely healthy, fiber-rific, vitamin-packed (blah, blah, blah I’m still planting less kale next year no matter what the internet tells me) veggie.

Here are three different recipes that heavily feature kale, allowing you to get those benefits when another plain old salad makes you sad.

So, it’s a bit embarrassing to share a lot of these photos.  There’s a lot of good about having eight acres, but there is also a lot of work!  This year we’ve experienced an absolute explosion of weeds and grasses.  In part this is because it was so darn hot for the month of August that I wasn’t in the garden weeding as frequently, but mainly it is because serious weed prevention hasn’t been done in a couple years, and the landscape fabric and mulch laid down years ago has finally ceded to nature … Therefore, we have a number of landscaping projects we’re looking to do late in the Fall and in the Spring.

I never thought I could be so furious at a critter as cute as a chipmunk, but the fact that they ruin almost every single tomato on our vines just before they ripen by taking a single chipmunk-sized bite out of them is teeth-grittingly maddening. Because of these sneaky, teeny, fluffy-tailed monsters, I’ve had to get creative with how we use our tomatoes, which has led me to grilled green tomatoes!

I love growing Serrano peppers in the garden because (1) they are super easy to grow – all you need is the plant and a lot of sun, and (2) they are delicious! Here are five easy ways to use Serrano peppers at a heat level that’s right for you…

One of the best things about gardening is being able to use unusual ingredients that you never see in the store (or even in restaurants)! One item I grow where you can truly use so much of the plant is fennel.

This was my first year growing fennel. We had incredibly dry weather, which, with our drip irrigation, the fennel loved. Then, over the last four weeks, we’ve been deluged. This is when I should have picked the fennel, because it immediately began to bolt (flower) and the bulb began to rot. I completely missed my window – or so I thought…

A few years in to having a several types of vegetable gardens, I’ve learned what are the easiest, lowest-maintenance, highest-reward veggies to grow, no matter your space – raised beds, right in the ground, even small-space container gardens.

Three things led me to try DIY organic weed killers: I didn’t want my chickens, who free range, to eat pesticides, I didn’t want my toddlers, who play everywhere and put even the most unexpected things in their mouths to be exposed to pesticides, and I hate (HATE) pulling weeds by hand.

Garlic is possibly the easiest, and certainly one of the most rewarding, items I grow in the garden. Here’s how to do it yourself …

Purslane is a weed, and grows like a weed, meaning that we have a ton of it in our garden starting in early June. I love it, but the rest of my family, to put it mildly, does not. So most of my purslane prep involves quick and easy purslane salads or lunches that I can make quickly for myself.

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Why are the things I need always so much less beautiful than the things I want? Now that the flowers are blooming and veggies are established enough we can even start some early harvesting, there are certain practical things I need – but plenty of beautiful things I want…